Tag Archives: Cookies

Nothing screams ‘Holiday Season’ like cookies and warm drinks; as Barbara Johnson said: “A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.” I don’t know about you, but this is my attitude during the holidays, and the more interesting recipes I can find, the better. I had a roommate in college who loved to hide surprise ingredients in her (always delicious) desserts such as black beans in her brownies. I’ve recently taken a page out of her book and found a lot of enjoyment in surprise vegetables in desserts. So, in searching for new sweets for this year, I decided to use vegetables that are in season either locally or regionally: sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, oranges, lemons, pears, and apples. I figure adding vegetables to your “balanced” diet can be a little less guilt-inducing and a lot more creativity-inducing. So put on your artistic cap, get out your cutting board, and dive into these delicious recipes.

I love carrot cake, it might be my favorite kind of cake, and it’s healthy (kind of)! What could be better than carrot cake cookies? Other than carrot cake cookies and a bunch of other kinds of delicious cookies, of course…

Sweet Potato Pie Cookies with Orange Glaze
A southern favorite with a twist! Sweet potatoes are kind of a super-food, high in vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D, iron, (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/9-reasons-to-love-sweet-potatoes.html) and deliciousness, they should be a regular at our dinner (or dessert) table.

I have to admit, I got pretty excited about the idea of putting beets in cookies because they’re delicious and also they make normal looking cookies cool colors, or just one color: pink. But the fun thing about cooking with beets is that kids will have more fun eating the food because of the color, not that this is an issue with cookies…

Makes about 16 large cookiesIngredients:1 cup maple sugar, or granulated organic sugar
3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup cooked red organic beet puree
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
12 oz chopped vegan dark chocolate
1 cup dried cherries
[NOTE: Beet puree is very easy to make. You can boil or bake the beets, peel the skin off once they’re cooked, put them in a food processer with water, and puree them until they’re completely smooth]
In a large bowl, combine coconut oil with sugar and whisk until well combined. Beat in the beets, vanilla extract, and agave nectar until well combined. In a smaller bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, then add to the large bowl, and mix until well combined, then add chocolate and cherries and mix until well distributed. Place in the fridge to chill until firm (preferably overnight). To bake, Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll balls into about 3 inch balls, and place on prepared cookie sheets a couple inches apart (refrigerate unused dough while baking the other trays). Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until puffed and just starting to brown slightly (but do not overbake!). Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining cookies.

As I said before, beets in cookies might be the best idea I’ve heard of in quite a while, so this recipe was especially intriguing to me. I have never heard of a beet glaze before in my life, so I had to try it. It looked cool when I finished but I don’t think I put enough sugar in the glaze. If you like beets then I would recommend this recipe, it definitely still had the beet flavor underneath the sugar and lemon. I, of course, had to test the recipe with some friends, and one of them summed it up perfectly, “it tastes like a biscuit with beet jam.” I want to try it again and experiment with the glaze. I just dipped one side of the cookies in the glaze but I think you could definitely get creative and make pretty designs on the cookies with the glaze.

Yield: 16 cookiesIngredients:2 cups flour
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 + 1 cup powder sugar (more if needed)1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 medium size beet(optional 1 tbs coconut oil + 2 tbs white sugar for roasting the beets)Directions:Combine flour and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.
Zest the skin of your lemon, about two teaspoons or so and add to the flour mixture
In a medium size bowl cream the butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add in 1/2 sugar and beat for another minute or two. next add the vanilla and beat until mixed. Slowly add the flour mixture and stir by hand until just combined. Do not over mix!
Place the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and press into a disk shape. let refrigerate for at least an hour and up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375F and take the chilled dough and roll it out on a floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick. cut into desired shape and place on a lined cookie sheet, put in the refrigerator to chill for 10-15 minutes. Remove and place in oven and bake for 8 – 10 minutes.Glaze:Preheat your oven to 450F and peel the skin from your beet and cut into quarters (optional: coat them with a bit of coconut oil and a few pinches of sugar before placing them in the oven)Roast them in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until tender. Remove and let cool completely. Place the cooled beets in a blender with a 1/2 water. Blend on high until the beets form a puree. The important part here is that it’s smooth, no lumps.Place the remaining 1 cup of confectionaries sugar in a bowl and add 1/4 cup of the beet puree and two TBS lemon juice. Whisk until combined and completely smooth, no lumps! The color of the frosting will lighten and become thicker the more sugar you add so this is all personal preference. If it’s too dark add more sugar, too thick – add more puree.Frost the cooled cookies with the beet glaze!One quick tip – use the best quality butter you can find. When there are so few ingredients the taste of the butter really stands out. No butter substitutes, the real deal!

Warm Drinks

One of my favorite things to do during the winter is to curl up on a cold day with a warm drink and a book; I don’t know about you but I’m hoping for a few good snows this winter just to savor this moment even more while watching the snow come down. I found a few interesting recipes that sound like delicious twists on traditional favorites.

For those of you craving a warm drink with a little bit more of a kick, this one might be for you. A little ginger and rum to warm your bones and spice up your evening could be the perfect thing on those frigid nights.Ingredients2 litres Cloudy apple juice2 thumb-sized Ginger pieces, sliced2 Ripe pears, sliced2 Cinnamon sticks, plus extra to serve4 Cardamom pods3 tbsp Light brown sugarJuice of 4 limes, zest of 2500ml Bacardi Gold rumHow to mixRecipe by Anna JonesPour the apple juice into your biggest pan, then add the ginger, pears, cinnamon, cardamom and sugar. Add the zest and juice of the limes, bring everything to the boil and simmer until all of the sugar has dissolved. Serve warm in glasses or mugs, with a good shot of spiced rum and a cinnamon stick.